ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

1884. 



Colonel John Brown, 

HIS SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 
BATTLE OF STONE ARABIA. 



REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 



ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



Colonel John Brown, 

HIS SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, 
BATTLE OF STONE ARABIA. 



BY 

Rev. garret L. ROOF, D. D. 



An Address Delivered before the Oneida Historical Society, ax 
Utica, N. Y., April 28, 1884, 



UTICA, N. Y. 
Ellis H. Roberts & Co., Book and Job Printers. 

1884. 



7B F r 



At the conclusion of the address of the Rev. Garebt L. Roof, 
D. D., upon the civil and military services of John Beown during 
the revolutionary war, delivered by special request before the 
Oneida Historical Society at Utica, on the evening of April 28th, 
1884, it was unanimously resolved, on motion of John F. Sey- 
mour, that the thanks of the Society be returned to Mr. Roof for 
his able and interesting address, and that he be requested to 
furnish a copy to the Society for publication. 

M. M. BAGG, 

Recording Secretary. 



JUN 3 '910 



COLO^^EL JOHN BROWN. 

HIS SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTIONAEY WAR BATTLE OF 

STONE ARABIA. 



The residents of the Mohawk valley will ever feel a deep interest 
in the career of Colonel John Brown, who in the fall of 1780, under 
the inspiration of a lofty patriotism, came with his Berkshire 
Levies to this valley, to protect its fields from pillage, its dwellings 
from conflagration, and its early settlers from the cruelty of a sav- 
age foe. This interest is doubtless enhanced by the consideration 
that when he first engagjed actively in the business pursuits of life, 
he was a resident of this valley, and that he fell while fighting 
heroically on one of its battle-fields, near which his ashes now 
repose. 

It may be proper here to remark that we are not to judge of the 
importance of the battles of the Revolution by the numbers en- 
gaged, but by the issues involved therein, which certainly were 
among the most momentous in this world's history. 

We should then love to trace the glorious events in the lives of 
that little band of patriotic men who first raised the standard of 
resistance to British oppression,' and" by the wisdom of their coun- 
sels and their valor in the battle-field, secured for us the blessings 
of constitutional liberty. 

It may not prove an easy undertaking to present the principal 
events in the life of Colonel John Brown with clearness, and in 
chronological order, as in the presentation of them, we will have 
to rely much on tradition. 

And to tradition we should not always attach the fullest cre- 
dence, even when supplemented by the written statements of per- 
sons whose lives were contemporaneous with the events they aimed 
to describe ; for such statements, though honestly made, will some- 
times be found to conflict to a greater or less extent with each 



4 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

other. Hence are we often embarrassed by the scantiness of 
authentic materials for the faithful delineation of the characters of 
many of the heroic men of the war of our independence. 

Among the j^atriots of the Revolution who, in the Mohawk 
valley, freely presented their lives as an offering on the altar of 
their country, was John Brown. 

In the account I shall here give of this intrepid defender of the 
rights of the colonists, that this j^ketch may not be extended to 
too great a length, it will be my aim to present only what I regard 
as the most important and best authenticated events in his civil 
and military career.* 

John Brown, who was the youngest of five brothers, was born 
October 19th, 1744, at Haverhill, in the State of Massachusetts. 

BROWN STUDIES LAW. 

He was graduated at Yale College in 1771. Soon after his 
graduation he became a law student in the office of his brother-in- 
law, the Hon. Oliver Arnold, at Providence, Rhode Island. After 
finishing his legal studies, he commenced the practice of the law at 
Caughnawaga (now Fonda) in this State, where he was appointed 
one of the attorneys for King George the Third. After a brief 
residence at this place, with a heart glowing with the enthusiasm 
of the times, he dismissed Coke and Littleton and the pursuits of 
civil and criminal jurisprudence, that he might be more active in 
the service of his country, and took up his residence at Pittsfield, 
Massachusetts. Here he soon engaged in the pati'iot cause. At 
this time the dispute between the colonies and Great Britain had 
assumed a threatening aspect. Taxation without representation 
was regarded by the colonists as an invasion of chartered rights, 
and as a direct violation of the British constitution. In fact, so 

* The principal authorities consulted in the preparation of this address are 
as follows : " Campbell's Annals of Tryon County," " Lossing's Field Book 
of the Revolution," "Thatcher's Military Journal," "The Frontiersmen of 
New York," " Hough's Northern Invasion," " History of Berkshire County," 
" Stone's Life of Brandt," " Manuscript of Hon. Jacob Snell," " Relations of 
Henry Brown (son of Col. Brown), at personal interviews," besides tradition- 
ary accounts from living witnesses. 



ADBEESS OF KEY. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 5 

determined at tliis time had become the spirit of hostility in this 
country to British aggressions, and so wide the breach between 
Great Britain and the colonies, as to lead John Adams to declare 
that " the trumpet of the Revolution had already been sounded." 

During this excited state of the public mind, John Brown at 
once attracted attention by his commanding talents and by that 
love of country which was ever with him an inspiration, and which 
so_sigually marked his subsequent career. 

HE BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE COUNTY AND PRO- 
VINCIAL CONGRESSES. 

In 1744 he was chosen a delegate to what was then termed "a 
•county congress," which convened at Stockbridge on the 6th 
July of that year. In that body, which was composed of very 
able men, he was appointed, with four other members, a committee 
to make a report on the obnoxious acts of the British Parliament, 
and their report was unanimously adopted. On the 11th October 
of the same year, he was chosen a representative from Pittsfield to 
the Provincial congress, which assembled at Concord. In Decem- 
ber he was appointed by that body, with Dr. Joseph Warren, 
Samuel Adams, and others, a committee to open a correspondence 
with leading men in Canada friendly to the American cause, and 
to John Bi-own was committed "the difficult and dangerous task 
of sounding the disposition of the Canadians, instituting a Revo- 
lutionary party among them, and organizing a system of secret 
communication with its leaders." 

BROWN'S FIRST CANADIAN EXPEDITION. 

Upon the acceptance of his appointment as envoy to Canada, he 
resigned his seat in the Provincial congress and started without 
delay on his Canadian mission. After encountering many perils 
and endurmg many severe hardships, he reached Montreal, where 
he met with a cordial reception from the committee of corres- 
pondence which had been organized in that city, and also from a 
delegation from Quebec. From them he learned, as he states, " that 



6 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

the military commanders in the service of the king were intriguing- 
to array the Canadian savages against the colonists ; that there was- 
no prospect of Canada sending delegates to the Continental con- 
gress, and that without the presence of a colonial army there would 
be no probability oi an uprising there for the colonists." 

This information he communicated without delay by letter to 
Dr. Joseph Warren and Samuel Adam?, of the committee of cor- 
respondence. 

ENGAGED IN THE CAPTURE OF FORT TICONDEROGA. 

He suggested to the committee in the same letter the importance 
(should hostilities be commenced) of seizing as soon as possible 
the Fortress of Ticonderoga. The suggestion of the importance 
of seizing that post (as says the author of the History of Pittsfield) 
"was highly creditable to the political and military sagacity of 
Mr, Brown." 

I will not stop here to dwell upon all the measures projected 
for the capture of the celebrated Fortress of Lake Champlain,, 
which for a long time, in the new England States, had been 
regarded as the Key of Canada. Mr. Brown was decidedly of the 
opinion that the Green Mountain Boys were the persons who 
should be employed in the projected attack upon Ticonderoga; 
and that Ethan Allen was the most suitable person to command 
them in this important enterprise. Suffice it here to say, that 
Colonel Ethan Allen soon received directions from the General 
Assembly of Connecticut to surprise and take the Fortress of 
Ticonderoga; and that in obedience to these directions, this 
brilliant exploit was accomplished before sunrise on the morning 
of the 10th May, 1*775, when the Fortress was surrendered to that 
intrepid commander in compliance with his famous demand made 

" IN THE NAME OF THE GeEAT J EHOVAH AND OF THE CONTINENTAL 

Congress." John Brown, who was personally engaged in this bold 
enterprise, and whose name was honorably mentioned- in Colonel 
Allen's official report, was immediately sent to announce the sur- 
render of the Fortress to the Continental Congress. We next 



ADDEESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 7 

hear of him in the First Canadian campaign in which he rendered 
important service to the colonies. 

HIS SECOND CANADIAN EXPEDITION. 

He now held the rank of major, and on the 24th July, 1775, 
duly commissioned, he set out on his second expedition to Canada, 
"to obtain," as he said, in his letter to Governor Trumbull, "the 
fullest intelligence of the military operations making by the King's 
troops, the Canadians and the Indians; to learn the situation of 
St. Johns, Chamblee, Montreal and Quebec; and the number of 
troops with which each was garrisoned ; whether the Canadians 
designed taking up arms against the colonies ; and whatever else 
it was of consequence, that an invading army should know." In 
this expedition Major Brown took with him a Canadian and three 
other men as guides ; and had a long, tedious and an exceedingly 
perilous journey down the west side of Lake Champlain, through 
fields flooded by the lake, and also through extensive marshes, in 
which he was often compelled to camp at night. He had not 
traveled many days before it was suspected that he was a colonial 
emissary; and, to clear himself so far as possible, from all harm- 
ful suspicions, he professed to be a dealer in horses, and while en- 
gaged in this new vocation (in which it is not recorded that he had 
much success, as he seemed to have less dexterity as a horse dealer 
than skill as a diplomatist,) he went through the country, and 
learned much by secret conferences with Frencli Canadians, and in 
various other ways, of the true state of Canadian affairs. 

Not a few French Canadians, however, who were friendly to the 
American cause were sagacious enougb to discover (as says one 
account,) and they so declared, that our American envoy was " an 
odd sort of a jockey, as he never got a nag to his liking." This 
account further states that "he was sometimes hotly pursued by a 
military force, and that on one occasion, a large squad of red-coats 
surrounded the house in which he lodged, from which he contrived 
to escape by a back window, and make good his flight." After 
many perilous adventures, "hair-breadth 'scapes," and sleepless 



8 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

nights, Major Brown arrived at Crown Point on the 10th day of 
August, having obtained much valuable and important informa- 
tion for the American army. A full account of his adventures in 
this Canadian expedition would read somewhat like a legendary 
tale. 

BROWN CAPTURES FORT CHAMBLEE. 

Passing by matters of less interest in the career of Major Brown, 
(not to speak of the unsuccessful attempt to capture Montreal, the 
plan for the capture of which was proposed by Major Brown ; but 
was not carried into successful execution by Colonel Allen,) we 
next hear of his brilliant operations at Fort Chamblee on the River 
Sorel. He had been intrusted by General Montgomery, (who was 
then engaged in the seige of St. Johns,) with the important under" 
taking of capturing that strongly constructed Fortress. Accord- 
ingly, on the 18th October, 1775, on a very dark night, under the 
directions of Brown, cannon were j^laced on bateaux and taken 
silently past the fortifications to the liead of the Chamblee Rapids, 
and were soon put in position lor attack. In fact the Fortress was 
now closely invested and at the mercy of Brown, Fifty Ameri- 
cans and four hundred Canadians were engaged in this expedition. 
The commander of the Fortress, Major Stopford, was suddenly 
aroused from his slumbers near midnight by a demand from Major 
Brown to surrender. The British Major had doubtless retired to 
his lodgings that night regarding his Fortress as a second Gibral- 
ter. He believed that its massive walls could successfully resist 
any assault that might be made upon them ; and that the Ameri- 
cans could not approach them with artillery, as the guns of the 
Fortress of St. Johns commanded the River Sorel on both sides 
for the distance of ten or twelve miles. Inexpressibly great, then, 
must have been his surprise (when awakened by the summons of 
Major Brown to surrender) to find the Fortress so closely invested 
and himself and his garrison fixed in such a state of " unpleasant- 
ness." Yet unpleasantly situated as Major Stopford was, he 
submitted the following modest proposals to the demands of Major 
Brown : 



ADDRESS OF REV. GAEEET L. EOOF, D. D. x) 

" The garrison should not be made prisoners, but should be 
permitted to march out with drums beating and colors flying ; 
with their arms and accoutrements ; and twenty-four rounds of 
ammunition each ; and carts and jDrovisions sufficient to pass by 
the shortest route to Montreal or any other place in the province 
at the option of Major Stopford." 

This document is certainly a model of its kind ; and it may be 
difficult to find its like among the memorabilia of military events. 

Burgoyne once boastfully declared that "\Brltons never retreat.^* 
When efiectually hemmed in near Bemus Heights, confronted by 
the troops of Gates, to meet whom again in battle in the condition 
he then was, would have resulted in the destruction of his own 
army ; with large detachments in his rear, cutting off his supplies, 
and with still other obstacles multiplying in that direction, Bur- 
goyne could neither get back to Canada, as he desired to do by 
a hasty reti'eat, nor couki he advance by a forced march to 
Albany, and there according to his declared purpose, "ea^ his 
Christmas dinner. ^^ 

Equally embarrassing on the dark night of the 18th of October 
was the situation of that son of Mars, the redoubtable Major 
Stopford. To abandon Fort Chamblee and attempt to retreat 
with his garrison under the cover of the night, would have been 
with him a futile undertaking. Equally futile would have been 
any attempt on his part to advance on the beleaguering force of 
Brown. 

But the American Major was not to be influenced by " the 
option " or modest proposals of Major Stopford, and like a cele- 
brated commander of later days, refused to consent to any terms 
but an unconditional surrender ; and accordingly on the morning 
of the 19th the Fortress with its garrison was surrendered uncon- 
ditionally. 

The fruits of this bold and successful exploit (besides the sur- 
render of the Fortress) were one Major, three Captains, three 
Lieutenants, a Commissary and a Surgeon, eighty-three non-com- 
missioned officers and privates of the Royal Fusilleers, besides a 
large quantity of stores, including one hundred and thirty-four 



10 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

ban-els of gunpowder, which were of almost incalculable value to 
our needy and ill-disciplined army. At this time General Philip 
Schuyler addressed a letter to the Continental Congress, in which 
he stated, that Major Brown " during the past year had rendered 
extraordinary service." 

ENGAGED IN THE SECOND CANADIAN CAMPAIGN. 

Major Brown was also engaged in the second Canadian cam- 
paign. On the 31st December, 1V75, he participated in the 
memorable attack on Quebec, in which General Richard Montgom- 
ery fell, and although he fell not like Wolfe or Epamiuondas, in "the 
arms of victory," yet he exhibited in his brief career that sublime 
heroism and true nobility of character which have rendered his 
name immortal. 

Major Brown was directed to co-operate by making a false attack 
upon the walls to the south of St. John's gate, and to set fire to 
the gate with combustibles prepared for that purpose, which duty 
he successfully performed. And during the subsequent siege of 
the city he occupied an advanced post with the soldiers under his 
command. 

On the 1st August, 1776, Congress voted him the commission of 
Lieutenant Colonel, with rank and pay in the Continental army 
from November, 1775. 

EXTRAORDINARY INTERVIEW BETWEEN BROWN 
AND ARNOLD. 

It became well known about this time that an unfriendly feeling 
existed between Brown and Arnold. Brown had learned much of 
Arnold's base character and lov/ intrigues. 

An account of an extraordinary interview between these two 
military men, though doubtless familiar to most readers of Ameri- 
can history, should not be omitted here. I summarize it from a 
more detailed account given by Colonel Stone, in his Life of Brandt. 

When Arnold was qviartered at Albany, during the winter of 
1776-1777, a difficulty arose between him and Brown, which re- 



ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 11 

suited ill the publication by the latter of a handbill attacking 
Arnold. The handbill contained these severe and scathing words : 
" Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would 
SACRIFICE HIS COUNTRY." The handbill was read aloud at Arnold's 
quarters, and in his presence. Arnold at once pronounced Brown 
a scoundrel, and declared further that he would kick him when- 
soever and wheresoever he should meet him. Brown saw Major 
Lewis, one of his most iatimate friends, in the evening of the day 
when the handbill was issued, and then obtained from him an invi- 
tation to dine with his mess on the morrow, hoping at that time to 
meet Arnold. On the next day, shortly before dinner would 
be served, Brown arrived and was ushered at once into the room 
where Arnold was standing with his back to the fire. Brown then 
deliberately approached Arnold, and, looking him directly in the 
eye, observed : " I understand that you have said you woidd 
kick me. I noxo present myself to give you an opportunity to put 
your threat into execution.^^ Arnold was silent. Brown then 
added : " You are a dirty scoundreV Arnold still remained 
silent, whereupon, after a short pause. Brown apologized to the 
gentlemen present for his intrusion, and left the room. 

I will not attempt to explain this" continued silence on the part 
of Arnold, who was personally brave and had a very resentful dis- 
position. The language employed by Brown on this occasion and 
in the presence of several gentlemen, had doubtless the possible 
merit of being sufficiently direct and explicit, but it was not such 
language as might have been expected from a gentleman of his 
refined manners and his well-known amiability of disposition. But 
it should be borne in mind that he had already endured much from 
the persecution of Arnold, and it may less surprise us then, that 
under a keen sense of the injustice done him by that bold, bad 
man, he should, in the employment of terms on this occasion, have 
transcended somewhat the limits of a gentlemanly propriety. 
With a mens conscia recti, he feared not to express publicly his 
opinion of the man who, he believed, Avould prove a traitor to the 
American cause ; for it was as true of Colonel Brown as it was of 
Chevalier Bayard, that "he was without fear and without re- 
proach." 



12 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

Colonel Brown was a remarkably sagacious man; and it seems 
was the first person to detect and comprehend the true character 
of Arnold. 

During the Canadian campaigns he had learned much of 
Arnold's profligacy, his base arts of dissimulation, his malignant 
disposition, bis lavish expenditures of money fraudulently obtained, 
and the shallowness of his patriotism. He regarded him as a 
second Catiline "wbo made money his God," and harbored 
treasonable designs against his country, for he could not fail to 
discover in the character of Catiline and Arnold many strong 
points of resemblance. 

The historian Sallust in his " Catiline Conspiracy," speaks of 
the arch Roman traitor in the following terms : " He was of a 
disposition equally profligate and depraved." " He was expert in 
all the arts of simulation and dissimulation, and covetous of what 
belonged to others." "His disposition naturally violent was 
hurried to the execution of his design by the consciousness of his 
crimed What the Roman historian said of Catiline proved 
equally true of Arnold. 

BROWN'S IMPORTANT SERVICES DURING THE 
BURGOYNE CAMPAIGN. 

During the early part of the Campaign of Burgoyne, in conse- 
quence of the plottings of Arnold, Colonel Brown was not engaged 
in active service, but he could not long remain unemployed while 
his country was struggling to shake off the yoke of British 
domination. 

He accordingly on his own account raised a regiment of militia, 
which he hoped in a short time to lead into the service of his 
country. The opportunity was soon presented. Colonel Brown 
was ordered by General Lincoln " to proceed to Lake George and 
destroy the British stores collected there, and release the American 
prisoners for whom that port had been made the depot." 

This was an enterprise that greatly suited the adventurous spirit 
of Brown. With a detachment of 500 men he left Pittsfield, and 
soon I'eached Pawlet, the headquarters of General Lincoln. 



ADDRESS OF EEV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 13 

From Pawlet on the 13tli September, 1777, with his usual 
promptitude, he started on his expedition, and proceeding to the 
nortli end of Lake George, from the 13th to the 18th September, 
he had passed u]) Lake George, and captured all the outworks 
between its Northern Landing place and the main Fort at 
Ticonderoga (including Mount Hope, Mount Defiance, and the old 
French lines), an armed brig, several gun boats, 200 bateaux, five 
cannon and small arms in proportion to the number of captured 
soldiers. He had made 298 prisoners, besides the officers and 
crews of the Flotilla. He had released 100 American soldiers, and 
retaken the Continental flag which General St. Clair had left 
behind him at Ticonderoga in his great haste to evacuate that 
Fortress. The guns at Mount Defiance wei-e then turned upon the 
Fortress at Ticonderoga, but v/ithout a successful result; and an 
attack made on the 24th on Diamond Island was also unsuccessful. 
Li this expedition with the loss of only three killed and five 
wounded, Brown had fallen upon the rear of Burgoyne's army, 
and had virtually cut off his cominunication Vv^ith Canada and 
his means for supplying his troops. This brilliant exploit was 
regarded as an event of the highest importance by the American 
army, and was certainly an essential link in the chain of events 
that soon rendered the surrender of Burgoyne inevitable. 

INVASION OF THE MOHAWK VALLEY. 

We now pass over a period of about three years in the life of 
Colonel Brown in which but little is recorded of the nature and 
scenes of his activities ; and find the field of his military operations 
transferred to the Valley of the Mohawk. 

In the fall of 1780, Sir John Johnson resolved upon the destruc- 
tion of the settlements of the Schoharie and Mohawk valleys. 
His force consisting of British Regulars, Loyalists, Tories and 
Indians, numbering one thousand persons, assembled on the Tioga; 
marched up along the eastern branches of the Susquehanna, and 
crossed thence to Schoharie, aided much in their progress by the 
intimate acquaintance of several of the men with the topography 



14 OlSTEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

of the country. They made a desolating march through the most 
fertile parts of the Schoharie settlements ; and on the 1 7th October 
reached Fort Hunter in the Mohawk valley at the confluence of 
the Schoharie Creek and the Mohawk river. From thence they 
proceeded towards Caughnawaga; and on the night of the 18th, 
bivouacked in the vicinity of " The Nose," a point well known 
through the Mohawk valley. 

INDIAN BARBARITIES. 

On the memorable night of the iTth and the eventful morning 
of the 18th October, the devastating march of the enemy pre- 
sented a spectacle of horror, of which it is impossible to give an 
adequate description. Both shores of the Mohawk were lighted 
up by the conflagration of houses, barns and stacks of hay and 
grain. The abundant crops upon which the commissariat of the 
illustrious head of the American army largely depended, were laid 
waste by the ruthless foe. No regard was had by the savages and 
tories for age, or sex or station, and their deeds of barbarity are 
written " with the scalping knife and tomahawk in characters of 
blood." The loud cries of terrified children ; the sad mean- 
ings of aged and helpless men and women, as they saw their once 
fair homes wrapped in flames and themselves doomed to a fearful 
death ; the piteous pleadings of mothers for their own lives, and 
for the lives of their infants, as they lay in their cradles uncon- 
cious of the cruel fate that awaited them, were alike unheeded by 
the murderous savage and the unfeeling tory. These events fur- 
nish as dark a page in the story of human woes as that presented 
by the massacres at Cherry Valley and Wyoming. 

It is difficult even at this day to suppress the feelings of indigna- 
tion, that will rise in our breasts at the thought of the inhumanity 
of the British Government in employing savages in the war with 
the colonists ; and in putting into their hands the scalj^ing knife 
and tomahawk to effect the work of subjugation, and we yet 
recoil with horror from the words of Lord Suffolk, the British 
Secretary of State, who declared openly in the House of Lords, 



ADDRESS OF EEV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 15 

that "the measure" for the employment of savages was 
*' allowable on principle." 

Soon after the news of the invasion of Schoharie reached 
Governor Clinton at Albany, in obedience to orders, General 
Robert Van Rensselaer, who commanded the Claverack, Albany 
iind 'Schenectady militia, started in the pursuit of the invading 
army. On the night of the 18th October, he encamped (as stated 
by the author of The Life of Brandt,) at "Van Eps " now 
Fultonville, about nine miles, or (as stated by the author of 
The Frontiersmen of New York,) on a hill near "The Stanton 
Place," in the present town of Florida, about fourteen or fifteen 
miles east of the enemy's encampment. 

General Van Rensselaer now learning that Fort Paris, at 
Stone Arabia, was to be assaulted on the next morning by 
Johnson's forces, dispatched a messenger to the commander of 
the fort with orders for him to march out on the morning of the 
19th, at nine o'clock, and attack the invaders, while at the same 
time he would assist him by falling upon the rear of the enemy. 

BROWN COMMANDER OF FORT PARIS. 

Colonel John Brown was now in the command of Fort Paris 
^ith a force of two hundred and fifty, or (as stated by the author 
of The History of Pittsfield,) of three hundred men consisting 
mostly of New England Levies. This number comprised a few 
militiamen and volunteers from Palatine and the adjoining towns. 
Colonel Brown had a few weeks previously been at Albany, and 
while there, was offered the command of Fort Paris, which he 
readily accepted. The Fort was situated about three miles north 
■of the Mohawk river, and the present village of Palatine Bridge. 

BATTLE OF STONE ARABIA. 

Early on the morning of the 19th October, Sir John Johnson, 
with his army, forded the Mohawk at Kkator's Rifts, near the 
present village of Spraker's Basin ; and then made a desolating 



16 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

march in the direction of Stone Arabia with the intention of 
attacking Fort Paris. 

The hour had now nearly arrived when the little band of 
Colonel Brown, in pursuance of the orders of General Van Rens- 
selaer was to march out of the Fort to meet the enemy. It is 
related, that at about this time several of Brown's officers remon- 
strated with him against the ordered movement, regarding it as 
exceedingly injudicious ; and that one of the men, well known as 
as a brave soldier, addressed, the commander in language of 
solemn warning, and recited the particulars of a remarkable dream 
that occurred to him on the night of the 18 th, full of fearful fore- 
bodings. But the brave Colonel, it seems, had little faith in 
dreams or supernatural apparitions. No evil genius had ap))eared 
to him on the previous night, as is related to have appeared to 
Marcus Brutus on a certain night before the memorable battle on 
the plains of Philippi. 

And ever prompt in obeying the orders of his superior officer, 
he gave no further heed to the soldier's dream, than did the 
first and greatest of the Caesars to the dream of his wife, Calpur- 
nia, or to the vaticinations of the soothsayer forewarning him of 
dansrer on the Ides of March. 



DEATH OF COLONEL BROWN. 

Everything being in readiness, at nine o'clock in the morning 
of the 19th October, Coloner Browai and his men sallied forth 
from Fort Paris to meet the enemy. 

They marched towards Fort Keyser, a little stockade situated, 
a mile and a half from the Mohawk river, which stockade they 
soon passed. After they had proceeded a short distance further 
one of Colonel Brown's vohmteers discovered an Indian (who was 
less wary than others of his tribe) pursuing two women as they 
were fleeing from their homes. The Indian discharged his musket 
at one of the women. The woman fell, and as he ran to scalp her 
the fire of the brave volunteer brouo-ht the savage to the earth. 



ADDKESS OF EEV. GAP.EET L. EOOF, D. D. 17 

A destructive fire was then opened upon the soldiers of Brown, 
which though returned by them with great spirit, was on account 
of their exposed condition less effective than that of the enemy. 
Brown maintained his position for a time with his characteristic 
bravery; but finding eventually, that he was attacked by over- 
whelming numbers, who wei*e gaining upon his flank, and that the 
army of Van Rensselaer did not come up as promised to assist 
him in the battle, he ordered a retreat, when he was shot through 
the heart by a musket ball from the enemy and fell lifeless to the 
earth. 

CJolonel Brown, according to tradition, was mounted during the 
engagement on a black horse and fell about one hour after he had 
left the Fort. With his fine person, his official uniform, and his 
superior military bearing, he was a conspicuous mark for the 
muskets of the British Regulars and Indians. He fell in battle on 
the very day he attained the age of thii-ty-six years, so that the 
anniversary of his birth was also the day of his death. The sav- 
ages, while his life blood was yet oozing warm from his heart, 
gathered around his body making the place hideous witli their 
exultant yells. They tore off his scalp. They stripped his body 
of every article of clothing except his ruffled shirt, and then left 
his body where it had fallen in this bloody encounter. 

About forty-five of Colonel Brown's men were slain and scalped. 
The remainder of his troops, overpowered by numbers, dispersed 
and sought safety in flight. A few of his men fled towards Fort 
Rensselaer, a pallisaded stone house, on the south side of the Mo- 
hawk river, yet standing in Canajoharie village. Others found 
places of concealment in the adjoining woods. It is related that 
six of the men took shelter behind a large rock from which they 
continued to discharge their muskets at the enemy until all of the 
men were slain. 

We have not sufficient data on which we can form a reliable 
estimate of the number of Johnson's men that fell during the 
engagement. We have traditions however, that of the British 
Regulars a few then fought their last battle ; that of the savages a 



18 OKEIDA HI3T0EICAL SOCIETY. 

much larger number then for the last time sounded the hideous 
war-whoop, and that of the Tories not a few were then doomed to 

" Go down 
To the vile earth from whence they sprung, 
Unwept, unhonored and unsung." 

After the battle, the army of Johnson was divided into small 
bands which marched through Stone Arabia during the afternoon 
engaged in the further destruction of the settlements. Several 
of them were composed mostly of Tories and Indians, incarnate 
devils, who delighted in deeds of murder and laughed at the 
shrieks of tlie victims of their cruelty. These bands continued 
their work of devastation and death until they were reunited by 
Johnson, who then marched them to the river road east of the 
Garoga Creek. 

The enemy were hardly out of sight when four young militia- 
men, who had escaped the scalping kniv?s and tomahawks of the 
savages, came oat of their lurking-places, took up the body of 
their fallen commander, and bore it in their arms to Fort Keyser, 
which had not been assaulted by the enemy. On the next day the 
bodies of Colonel Brown and the soldiers killed in the engage- 
ment, mostly of the New England Levies, were buried in a pit 
near Fort Paris. Two or three days afterwards the pit was 
opened, and the body of Colonel Brown was removed to a place of 
interment about three hundred yards west of the Reformed Dutch 
Church of Stone Arabia ; and there now repose the remains of 
one of the noblest and bravest defenders of the Mohawk valley. 

" New England's dead! New England's dead! 

On every hill tliey lie; 
*** ******* 
Each valley where the battle pour'd 

Its red and awful tide, 
I Beheld the brave New England sword 

With slaughter deeply dyed. 
Their bones are on the northern hill 

And on the southern plain; 
By brook and river, lake and rill 

And by the roaring main. " 



ADDRESS OF EEV. GAREET L. ROOF, D. D. 19 

It may be supposed here that Colonel Brown did not exercise a 
proper degree of caution while marching down towards the 
Mohawk river to attack the enemy, and was therefore ambuscaded 
by the Indians, as was the imperious Braddock near the Fords of 
the Monongahela, or as was the brave and heroic Herkimer at the 
Battle of Oriskany. The wily Indians, who thought nothing prop- 
erly done, unless done by stratagem ; whose art of war consisted 
chiefly of the " art of surprise," whose crafty spirits forbade them 
from engaging in open warfare with an oj^posing force, and who 
regarded the scalp as their most valuable trophy, in great wariness 
had lain in ambush for the detachment of Colonel Brown. It 
would hardly be proper at this late day, with the somewhat con- 
flicting statements of the survivors of this engagement, and when 
we have to rely so much on tradition, to employ words of censure 
against Colonel Brown for his conduct on the morning of the 19th 
October. His movements hitherto had been characterized by 
good judgment and a commendable degree of circumspectness. 
His march after sallying forth from Fort Paris was through a sec- 
tion of country yet densely covered with woods, passing through 
which he would be greatly exposed to the perils of ambuscade. 

GENERAL VAN RENSSELAER'S DILATORY 
MOVEMENTS. 

He had every reason to believe that General Van Rensselaer 
would be present, as promised, with his forces and fall upon the 
rear of the enemy. But General Van Rensselaer, for some cause 
that has never yet been explained, failed to come up to the support 
of Colonel Brown, and it is quite obvious that he was not like 
the gallant Hotspur, impatient for the fight. Early in the 
evening of the 18th October, he was probably not more than :iine^ 
and certainly not more t\\2LH fifteen miles from the enemy's encamp- 
ment. He had a force about double that of the enemy, and as the 
enemy's force did not move during the night of the 18th, General 
Van Rensselaer could easily have overtaken the invaders before they 
reached the battle-field. A competent, a prompt and an intrepid 



20 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

commander would have done so, and thus averted the fall of Browtr 
and the loss of a part of his heroic band. This was the concurrent 
ojjinion, so far as known, of the survivors of the battle. But this 
commander, instead of advancing with all due promptness to the 
relief of Colonel Brown, moved along tardily in the direction of 
the enemy's forces and arrived at Canajoharie, nearly opposite to, 
and about two miles distant from the battle-ground, while the 
shrill war cry of the savages engaged in deeds of blood could yet 
be heard, and while the lulls of Palatine were yet reverberating 
with the roar of musketry. It does not appear that General Van 
Rensselaer made any effort during the morning of the 19th to cross 
over to the north side of the Mohawk with his troops, but he suc^ 
ceeded, according to several accounts, in reaching Fort Plain, three 
miles west of Canajoharie, in time to accept an invitation to dine 
with a military friend. If we may charitably suppose that he pur- 
posed, on the morning of the engagement, to move with all due 
speed to the support of Colonel Brown, yet it is certain he " made 
haste slowly." It is due, however, to the memory of General Van 
Rensselaer to state that at a court of inquiry, held at Albany on the 
12th March, 1781, he was exonerated from all blame for his con- 
duct on the 19th day of October, 1780, But that court, like all 
other earthly tribunals, Avas by no means infallible, and its decis- 
ion was not only non-concurred in by a majority of his cotempora- 
ries, but has since been completely reversed by the judgment of 
posterity. 

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

Colonel Brown had a noble person, was an accomplished scholar, 
fond of elegant literature, and gifted with talents of a high order. 
He Avas pure in his morals, winning in his address, and greatly 
respected and beloved by the officers of the American army. One 
of his most attached friends was the lamented Montgomery. Hav- 
ing engaged early in life in the service of his country, at his coun- 
try's call he was ready to march to battle and to death. He was 
as true a patriot as ever raised his voice, and as intrepid a soldier 



ADDRESS OF REV. GARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 21 

as ever tlrew his sword in the defense of liberty. He did not live 
to see the united colonies enrolled among the free and independent 
nations of the earth, but he knew much of American prowess, for 
he had been in the storm and tempest of battle, and never doubted 
the final triumph of the American arms. He had an active mind, 
a chivalric nature, and a passionate fondness for adventurous enter- 
prises. His remarkable geniality of disposition often led him to 
indulge in pleasantries, and he was inclined to be very observant 
of whatever in this world was rare and peculiar. 

Lossing in his Field Book of the Revolution relates the follow- 
ing occurrence: "While on his way to the Mohawk river. Colonel 
Brown called on Ann Lee, the founder of the sect of American 
Shakers, and told her by way of pleasantry that on his return he 
would join her society. A fortnight after he fell in battle two 
members of the society waited on his widow, and told her that her 
husband in spirit had joined mother Ann ; and that he had given 
express directions for her to become a member of the society. 
But his widow was not to be duped by their representations, and 
bade them begone." If Colonel Brown really had the interview 
referred to with mother Ann, how little was he then aware that he 
was so soon to be niimbered with the martyr-heroes of the Mohawk 
Valley. 

MONUMENT TO COLONEL BROWN. 

On the 19th day of October, 1836, fifty-six years after the death 
of Colonel Brown a monument was erected by filial piety over his 
remains, Avhich, (as already stated), were deposited a few days 
after the battle in a place of interment a little west of the 
Reformed Dutch Church of Stone Arabia. A son of Colonel 
Brown, (Henry Brov/n), then sheriff of Berkshire County, 
Massachusetts, a gentleman of dignified presence, and said to bear 
a strong personal resemblance to his father, was present on the 
occasion, but died soon afterwards, leaving to a large circle of 
relatives and friends an honorable record and an unsullied name. 



22 ONEIDA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

The monument bears the foHowmg inscription : 

" In Memory of Col. John Brown, 

Who was Killed in Battle on the 19th day op October, 1780, 

At Palatine, in the County of Montgomery. 

Aged SB/' 

After tlie ceremony of raising the monument, a sermon was 
preached by the Reverend Abraham N. Van Horne, of Caughna- 
waga. And very appropriately "was this aged and respected 
clergyman called at this time to officiate, for he had conducted 
the religious services (from 1795 to 1832), in the Stone Church at 
that place, the same venerable structure in which Colonel Brown, 
was a worshipper when a practicing lawyer in this valley. The 
sermon was followed by an address from him, who then spoke (as 
he this evening, after the elapse of so many years, again speaks) 
of the memorable events that occurred in the Mohawk valley in 
the fall of 1780; and your speaker yet well remembers how deep 
were the emotions of the dutiful son as he stood by the grave of 
his honored father, and in the exercise of filial love and piety paid 
to his memory the tributary tear. 

The presence of the son of Colonel Brown, and also of a few of 
the brave volunteers, survivors of the battle of Stone Arabia, 
added much to the interest of the occasion. These volunteers 
were then octogenarians, or what is more probable, each of them, 
had then attained an age exceeding that of four score years. 

They never spoke of their former commander, but with ieelings 
of deep emotion. Ilis manly and soldierly bearing; his uniform 
kindness to his men, and his words of patriotic cheer as they were 
about to march against the invaders, were to them ever welcome 
themes in their declining years, and seemed to be ever fresh in 
their memories. 

I trust it will be pardonable in me in this connection to present 
a few passages from the address (already referred to) delivered on 
the occasion of the erection of the monument to Colonel Brown. 
" I now see before me a little remnant of those intrepid spirits who 



ADDRESS OF EEV. G ARRET L. ROOF, D. D. 23 

fought in the memorable engagement of October 19th, 1780. 
Fifty-six years ago this day, led on by your gallant commander, 
yon battled with greatly superior numbers, consisting of British 
Regiilars, loyalists and savages. 

" Venerable patriots ! We bid you welcome here this day. In 
the name of our country, we thank you for the services you rend- 
ered her in the darkest days of the Revolution. Be assured they 
will be held in grateful remembrance while the Mohawk shall 
continue to wind its course through yonder rich and fertile valley. 
They will be the theme of praise, long after the marble erected 
this day to the memory of your brave commander, shall have 
crumbled to dust. Look! look around you! The field! the field 
is before us on which the heroic Brown poured out his life blood 
in the defense of his country's liberties. You fought by his side. 
You saw him as he fell in battle with his face to the foe. You 
bore his bleeding and lifeless body from the battle field. With 
gentle hands, and sorrowing hearts you committed bis remains to 
the earth and 

• ' Carved not a line and raised not a stone. 
But left him alone in liis glory." 

At the Berkshire jubilee, held at Pittsfield, August 23, 1844, 
•Governor Briggs, of Massachusetts, in referring to Colonel Brown, 
said : " You know the histoi-y of John Brown. He sleeps at Stone 
Arabia where he fell in tliat murderous attack of the Indians upon 
the Mohawk. And he sleeps not there alone. Many a Berkshire 
boy fell with him. From our little sister town of Lanesborough 
three of her sons perished in that bloody conflict. Many a Berk- 
shire mother's heart sunk within her at the news of that day's 
work.'' 

CONCLUSION. 

In bringing this imperfect account of the civil and military 
career of Colonel Brown to a close, T may add very briefly : 



24 ONEIDA HISTOEICAL SOCIETY. 

The beautiful and magnificent valley of the Mohawk is well 
known historic ground, for its battle fields have been signalized 
by martial achievements, that have conferred lasting renown upon 
the country. Its soil has been baptized with the blood, and 
consecrated by the ashes of Revolutionary patriots, among whom, 
Colonel Brown deserves conspicuous mention. The citizens of 
this valley will ever delight to do honor to his memory, and the 
sad story of his death on the battle field of Stone Arabia, will 
never be told without awakening in their bosoms greater love for 
their native land, and for the institutions of their fathers. They 
will ever speak gratefully of him who at the time of our country's 
tribulation left his home in New England, to engage in deadly 
strife with savages along the Mohawk, and fell while nobly 
battling in the cause of liberty. 

" Ah ! never shall the land forget, 

How gushed the life blood of her brave; 
Gushed warm with hope and courage yet 
Upon the soil they fought to save." 



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